Gemstone Material Types

Trade names are terms used in the jewelry-making industry to refer to materials that resemble natural gemstones. These names show up in quotation marks or have parenthetical (imitation) or (manmade) following them in their descriptions. When buying trade name products, use this chart to discover what the actual material is.

Material Type	Actual Material
African "Jade"	Quartz
African ''Turquoise''	Jasper
Amber (assembled)	Amber/Resin
Amber (imitation)	Resin
Aqua Terra ''Jasper''	Onyx Marble
Azurite-Malachite (assembled)	Azurite/Malachite/Resin
Azurite-Malachite (imitation)	Resin
Black ''Jade''	Serpentine
Black Moss ''Quartz''	Glass
Black Onyx (imitation)	Plastic
Blue Lace ''Agate'' (imitation)	Resin
Bumblebee ''Jasper''	Indonesian Volcano Lava and Sediment
Chinese ''Chrysoprase''	Serpentine
Ching Hai ''Jade''	Dolomite/Fuchsite
Cinnabar (imitation)	Resin
''Coral''	Resin
''Druzy'' and Druzy (imitation)	Resin
Golden ''Jade''	Quartz
Goldstone	Glass w/Copper Flecks
Green Earth ''Jasper''	Serpentine
Green ''Opal''	Chalcedony
Howlite (imitation)	Resin
Italian ''Onyx''	Onyx Marble
Jet (imitation)	Plastic
K2 ''Jasper''	Granite and Azurite
''Larimar''	Quartz
''Lapis Lazuli''	Resin
Lemon ''Chrysoprase''	Citron Magnesite
''Malachite''	Resin
Malaysia ''Jade''	Quartz
Marble (imitation)	Resin
Mexican Opal (manmade)	Silica/Epoxy
Mocha Mint ''Jasper''	Marble
Mosaic ''Turquoise''	Magnesite/Resin
Mountain ''Jade''	Dolomite Marble
New ''Jade''	Serpentine
''Opal''	Silica/Epoxy
Peace ''Jade''	Serpentine/White Quartz
Peridot ''Jasper''	Serpentine
Picasso ''Jasper''	Onyx Marble
"Pink Shell" (imitation)	Plastic
''Pipestone'' (imitation)	Plastic
''Quartz''	Glass
Rainbow ''Stone''	Plastic
Red ''Malachite''	Marble
''Rhodonite'' (imitation)	Plastic
Saguaro ''Jasper''	Serpentine
Sea ''Opal''	Glass
''Spiny Oyster'' (imitation)	Plastic
''Sugilite'' (imitation)	Plastic
Tigerskin "Jasper"	Limestone
Turquoise (imitation)	Resin
''Variscite'' (imitation)	Plastic
White ''Jasper'' (imitation)	Plastic
White ''Opal''	Manmade
Yellow ''Jade''	Quartz
Yellow ''Turquoise''	Serpentine w/Quartz
Zebra ''Jasper''	Onyx Marble

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